AfriGeneas Military Research Forum

Yes, the Florida OnLine presentation is a great resource for understanding USCT records no matter what unit or state is the focus of one’s research. Although none connect directly to my West Florida ancestors, the records and the background histories explain the many resubmissions requested by the government. Their suspicions and notations even gave me pause. Why would they question the endorsements and diagnosis of my ancestor's physicians? Perhaps they believed these medical records were forged? How could a soldier in the Corps D'Afrique have such connections, they may have wondered.

We can't forget that many of the administrators were southerners whose families were still smarting from their defeat by these remarkable men of color. If their seething reb cousins couldn't scare them by donning white sheets, they could surely fix these upstart Negroes by denying them a pension.

This is not to deny that there were Southerners in power who supported the pension claims of USCT veterans. I was surprised by the many prominent Pensacola names both white and black that appear in these documents. Physicians, businessmen and community leaders submitted numerous documents supporting my gg grandfather's claims. This evidence highlights one aspect (in my ancestor's experience) of the racial climate in Pensacola. It will be an interesting historical footnote to add to my family chronicle.

There’s a plethora of interesting information that can be gleaned from the University of North Florida’s USCT’s research. For instance the great span in ages of the soldiers, the connection of South Carolina to Florida, the treatment of the USCT during and after the Civil War.

I've book marked this page to use as a reference/template in documenting the experience of the US Colored Troops. I invite Civil War researchers to do the same.